Category: News

Here’s your chance to get the inside scoop on life as a race mechanic while expanding a few of your skills.

Each year some of the top race mechanics gather to teach courses on tubular gluing, race equipment preparation, caravan positioning, event support and more. This year the Bill Woodul Mechanics’ Clinic will occur November 13-17th at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado. While that date is still far out, this clinic tends to fill quickly. With that in mind, get in contact and register soon.

UCI recently released their list of registered 2013 mountain bike teams and we used that information to update our list of teams. Are you working with a mountain bike team this season? If so, let us know using the form at the bottom of this page.

Got a little spare cash in your pockets? There is a Kickstarter project that could use your help. Though not necessarily a professional mechanics’ tool, this device could fit nicely in your jump pack or as a spare set in your tool box. Fix It Sticks appear to be lightweight, modular and customizable. For more information, check out their Kickstarter page.

While we are talking about compact tools, what is your mini or multi tool of choice? Leave us a comment below.

This year’s schedule for national level track racing kicks off in May in Texas and runs into September where it finishes off at the VELO Sports Center in Carson, CA. For more information on this seven event schedule, check out USA Cycling.

I remember years when I felt like an old school janitor with a large quantity of keys. The house key, the truck key, the trailer hitch key, the key for the lock on the trailer’s side door, the key or keys for the trailer’s rear door locks, the key for the tool box, the key for the cable lock, and many more keys. Now, due to a product line called BOLT, those time may be changing.

BOLT, or Breakthrough One-Key Lock Technology, allows you to use your car or truck key on multiple locks. Using the BOLT system, you can discard multiple trailer specific keys and stick with your one vehicle key.

While not a solution for every situation, this sounds like the answer for many time consuming or cumbersome experiences for the race mechanic:

James Huang kicks off the year for Bike Radar with a review of one of the pricier sleeping hubs from Butter, the b1. As mentioned by James, at $50 this device is pricy. However, if you are seeking a tool that should last longer, this may be your solution….and it has a unique appearance (unless you are carrying around Calvin’s home made revolver model).

Following James’ lead, let’s chat about sleeping hubs.

First off, what is a sleeping hub?
A sleeping hub is a chain keeper designed to replace the hub or wheel when cleaning. In most cases, a ‘sleeping hub’ is mounted to the drive side drop out and includes a shoulder for the chain to reside. The intent is to allow the mechanic to continue rotating the drive train while preventing the chain from dragging on the frame. It also provides …

It’s been a busy start to the week with notice of a shorter offseason for those who ride in the dirt and announcements of who is in or out of the Pro Tour.

First off, the UCI released their final list of Pro Tour teams earlier today. According to the list on their website Katusha is out, Argos-Shimano are in and questions regarding both SaxoBank and RadioShackNissan are answered.

The UCI also issued a statement that they have been talking to the owner of Omega Pharma-QuickStep regarding the development of new professional road racing calendar. Their statement can be seen here and stay tuned for more information to come this spring.

Not to be left out of the news, USA Cycling announced 2013 professional mountain bike schedule. They’ve announced a start date of March 2nd in Texas followed by three events in California …

A great opportunity exists for someone ready to take the helm of an existing neutral support program. Chris Zigmont has taken on a new task and is seeking a buyer for this seasoned program.

Per Chris on Facebook:“Système-D Neutral Racing Service Friends, our wonderful little NRS outfit may well be shutting its doors. We’ve got gear, we’ve got races, and we’ve got more and more interest. The trouble is, I’ve taken a new day job that will keep me from running Système-D. Do you want to run it? Do you want to buy the gear? Chime in.”

It’s been a while since the topic of health insurance has popped up on ProMechanics. With the recent passing of Swiss mechanic Erwin Wildhaber we are putting out the reminder for the need for both health and liability coverage.

Consider the following:

* the coverage provided by USA Cycling is only secondary insurance and only covers you during activities supported by USA Cycling.

According to an article on Velonews.com Cal Giant-Specialized’s team van was broken into in Santa Cruz and a few items were stolen. Listed were some wheels and Jordi Cortes’ personal tools. Luckily he had locked up the bikes which may have prevented them from being stolen.

Some points for all of us:

always consider backup security for the items in your team vehicles
make sure your team’s equipment is insured
make sure your personal items are insured

Ed Note:
I’ve had my toolbox stolen, twice. In both cases I was covered by insurance allowing me to acquire new tools. However, I was not able to recover the tools I created myself, the tools handcrafted by others or the older models that were no longer in production. I learned from the second theft to not place my personal box near the door in the trailer. Theives tend …

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For over a decade we've provided updates and information on tools, tool cases, mechanic's licenses, team positions and other resources for those working on the race circuit or interested in life as a professional bicycle race mechanic.
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